Extract: Most commonly known as the technology behind Bitcoin, blockchain is an anonymous public distributed ledger of digital events. It constantly grows as “completed” blocks are added to it with a new set of records. The blocks each contain a timestamp and other transaction data. Each block is added to the blockchain in a linear, chronological order with a link to the previous block.

Extract: After reading about how a partner in one of the biggest and most prestigious international law firms was busted by an undercover US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) agent for trying to garner Bitcoins in a corrupt transaction from a Silicon Valley tech company, it’s likely you won’t feel sad about smart contracts beginning to take over certain functions of lawyers. You might even secretly thank Ethererum’s co-inventor Vitalik Buterin, for it.

Title: Approaches to Blockchains And Cryptocurrencies Around The Globe

Extract: Blockchain technology is taking off, and to keep pace with the development of disruptive platforms, governments around the globe are responding.ETHNews surveys efforts by Lithuania, Switzerland, and Ukraine to regulate and study blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in their respective nations.

Title: You may soon be able to use the blockchain to formally consent to sex

Extract: Blockchain is now perceived, as a disruptive and utopian solution to a host of technology-related challenges. However, there is need for consensus on how different jurisdictions would create a legal and regulatory framework which addresses key legal concerns around blockchain solutions – including data privacy, intellectual property, enforceability of contracts and choice of jurisdiction

Lawmakers in Florida and Nebraska have introduced bills focused on blockchain, smart contracts and cryptocurrencies.

On January 9, Florida state representatives James Grant and Jackie Toledo introduced House Bill 1357. The bill establishes multiple provisions pertaining to blockchain ledgers and smart contracts. It states that these could be treated as legally-binding methods of data storage, provided that such measures do not break any pre-existing laws or regulations.

Extract: A lawmaker in Florida has introduced a bill that, if passed, would create a legal foundation for blockchain data and smart contracts in the U.S. state.

House Bill 1357 introduces multiple stipulations that blockchain ledgers and smart contracts be treated as legally-binding methods of data storage – provided that such measures do not break any pre-existing laws or regulations.

Kodak announced that it will launch a block chain technology based platform, named KodakOne, for photographers to register and license their images. KodakOne will also enable photographers to search the web for unauthorized usage. The native token of the KodakOne platform will be called KodakCoin.

The company stated:

“For many in the tech industry, ‘Blockchain’ and ‘cryptocurrency’ are hot buzzwords, but for photographers who’ve long struggled to assert control over their work and how it’s used, these buzzwords are the keys to solving what felt like an unsolvable problem.Kodak has always sought to democratize photography and make licensing fair to artists. These technologies give the photography community an innovative and easy way to do just that.”

Extract: Dax Hansen founded Perkins Coie’s blockchain practice group long before the digital transaction and record-keeping platform was heralded as a game-changer.

That was in 2013. Today, blockchain is best known as the network that enables buying and selling of bitcoin. But it’s also beginning to enter the tech and business mainstream, with leading companies investing in its potential and Big Law also starting to take a stake of its own.

“It was not as sexy in 2012 or 2013,” said Hansen, who focuses his practices on IT, payments and international business transactions.

Extract: Patent applications related to blockchain technology are rising at exponential rate, according to a presentation given yesterday by a partner at United States law firm Rimon. Inventors are seeking intellectual property protection, bringing challenges into the blockchain ecosystem, such as infringement and patent trolls. He called for industry collaboration on IP, and the possibility of patent pools.

Extract: After reading about how a partner in one of the biggest and most prestigious international law firms was busted by an undercover US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) agent for trying to garner Bitcoins in a corrupt transaction from a Silicon Valley tech company, it’s likely you won’t feel sad about smart contracts beginning to take over certain functions of lawyers. You might even secretly thank Ethererum’s co-inventor Vitalik Buterin, for it.